Sainsbury's aims to regain green ground from rivals

Supermarket chain Sainsbury's is stepping up the race to be viewed as Britain's most socially and environmentally responsible retailer with a new campaign to fight back against the high-profile initiatives launched by its rivals.

Sainsbury's Different Values campaign will attempt to establish its credentials, using press advertising and a new TV campaign featuring celebrity chef Jamie Oliver. "Maybe we have been too humble, but that will not continue. We have to communicate loud and clear about what we are doing. We need to shout up and be heard a bit more," said Sainsbury's marketing director Gwyn Burr.

Tesco launched its community plan last year to reinvent itself as a "good neighbour". Marks & Spencer followed suit earlier this year with Plan A - a list of 100 aims including a target to become carbon neutral by 2012.

Although Tesco and M&S - and Wal-Mart-owned Asda - have set out cash investments and specific targets, including Tesco's recently announced £25m of funding for the new Sustainable Consumption Institute at Manchester University - Sainsbury's claims it has always been socially and environmentally aware. It opened its first eco-friendly store in Greenwich, south London, in 1999.

Yesterday Ms Burr said she found it "really frustrating" that rival retailers were getting plaudits for making changes that Sainsbury had made years ago. "Others make a huge noise about installing a wind turbine on a store, but we did that first in 2001."

Ms Burr outlined Sainsbury's initiative at a Marketing Society conference yesterday and promised to use "everything in the marketing toolbox" to hammer home Sainsbury's message, including the TV chef who has fronted Sainsbury's advertising for several years.

"He's absolutely on this page with us. He's totally into it," she said.

Ms Burr said the supermarket would also train the chain's 148,000 staff on the new corporate message.

The new campaign was announced as Delta Two, a Qatari-backed investment vehicle, started formal talks yesterday with J Sainsbury pension fund trustees.

The Sainsbury's board last week voted unanimously to allow would-be bidder Delta Two to start due diligence work ahead of a potential 600p-a-share takeover bid which could see the 788-store chain become a foreign-owned private company.

After two months of talks, the Sainsbury's board chaired by Sir Philip Hampton, opened its books to Delta Two and signalled its backing for the 600p-a-share bid, which values Britain's third-largest grocery chain at £10.6bn.

Delta Two, headed by financier Paul Taylor, is funded by the state investment fund of Qatar.